It's now mid October. My arms are still recovering, but I've managed to get things stabilized somewhat with wrist braces.
I'm now working my way back up to being able to draw again regularly, and just completed a ref sheet I owed.

There's a couple more things I need to catch up on, one of them being a comic, since I picked up a small comic project
a few months back, that I got roughed out, but need to finish.

I'll be uploading stuff here soon, so watch for updates :3

I want to apologize to folks for being offline so much the past couple of months.

My nerve issue was apparently a lot more complex than I originally thought, which has delayed my healing significantly,
As a result, my time doing anything on the computer has been severely limited, to say the least ><

I will unfortunately have to continue to avoid typing, and using phone apps until this heals fully. I've thought I was over this several times already, but have continued to relapse whenever I do too much of....anything really. I probably shouldn't even be typing this, but I want people to know what has been going on, and that I'm still here, and that I still haven't forgotten the commissions I owe. In fact, I've been quietly working on them here and there, when things feel stable enough to put in half an hour or an hour of drawing/painting. I feel guilty for not communicating more with people, since I'm usually on the ball, and kinda feel like a failure for a lot of things, even though I've been doing my best :/ That's a me thing. I think people have been.... thankfully really understanding, but internally, I've got a lot of imposter syndrome and self-blame going on.

I've been avoiding telegram, but I know I have some messages there. I'll check them when I feel better.
Losing use of my dominant arm has been anxiety/depression triggering as it is, and I've been dealing with some other stuff regarding horrible people, and selling the house.... that I'm not going to get into, because I shouldn't be on the computer typing this anyway.... but I felt like I needed to update on this in a place that isn't social media where people might just scroll through a sea of posts and miss it >>' with telegram, I feel too pressured to talk to people, and easily get sucked into typing a lot and feeling like I need to write long paragraphs to justify myself to people >>' which is very bad for me right now, on multiple levels.

The good news: after weeks of PT (stretching, nerve flossing exercises) working on my back, my posture, and resting so much that I'm going insane- I finally got a wrist brace the other day (that mostly fits my super tiny wrists) and I've been wearing it for almost 48 hours straight at this point. It's all making a difference. I am healing, This issue has bounced from my elbow, to my shoulder, to my neck, and my wrist, causing numbness, tingling, and pain, but now seems isolated to my wrist.

I can't say when things will be fully healed. I do know things are getting better. I love art, I love bringing people's characters and stories to life. These past couple of months have been miserable, but I'm healing. I will heal, and I will complete the small handful of commissions that I need to finish, and continue growing as an artist.

If I have disappointed anyone, I'm sorry. Please know I'm doing my best to heal and get my life (art, that's my life) moving again.

Thank you for your interest and support in my art over the years <3

Some of you might know I hurt my drawing arm recently. It'll be another couple of days (at least) until I expect to be able to hold a pencil again :/
On the bright side, this means I've started trying to learn to draw with my left, and it's been....surprisingly fun. Just experimenting and not worrying about perfection is really nice honestly.

I've also been taking this time to think more about things I can do, like sell coloring pages on my Kofi. I've wanted to offer merch of some kind for a while, but honestly, I'm not good at scheduled releases of things >>' but something like offering coloring page bundles, or phone lock screens for a few bucks would actually be do-able.

In the meantime, if you're feeling generous and want to help me catch up on bills I've missed while being unable to work, my kofi is here- https://ko-fi.com/scalebutt/

Thank you very much for your time and support over the years <3

It's been a while since I've updated here.

To start off with, we're still stuck in Oklahoma. We've paid off the property (but still making payments on the building)
The neighbors still suck, but have been mostly leaving us alone?
"Most" of my dental issues have been solved, and I've survived a major dental infection, so yay.
Walmart has started doing same-day delivery to our area, so we're no longer just living on canned food, which is also yay.
PTSD still sucks, but I'm getting more stable again.

So, things are slowly improving for the quality of life here. We're on year.... 5 of no running water, but have befriended a neighbor who lets us regularly bathe and do laundry, so we're hopefully seeming a little less feral and stinky >>' Maybe we'll manage to get enough funds together to pay the tap fee this year, if we don't manage to sell this place and move before then.

It's spring, so it's tornado season. A few days ago we had no less than four tornado warnings, but everything here was ok.

Currently I'm working on finishing up a large commission for a Chakat ref sheet, and another for a harpy character. I hope to have those ready to share soon :3

After that I'll probably switch gears to wood/antler carving again for a bit, since I have a big tub of materials I don't want to have to drag with me to the next place, and because I've almost broken 1k followers on Bsky. So maybe people will actually see things I make, unlike when I tried to carve and sell stuff on FB years ago? We'll see.

Taking one day at a time, trying to be better about self-care, rather than driving myself into burnout like I have before.

I'm planning on building a proper website for myself this year, and hopefully that will help me streamline things so that I have an actual "home" online, rather than relying on linktree, carrd, patreon, kofi, etc.

We'll see how things go. I'll be updating more art and stuff here soon.

Thanks for all of your support over the years :3

Things have been feeling pretty bleak off and on around here, but we're managing to endure for now. The neighbors actually bought the property next to us, and have burnt down a good chunk of the forest that was there. For the moment, they've shoved a bunch of rocks and debris up as a buffer between our properties, which I didn't expect. The trees and fallen logs that the wild things here treasured are gone now though. Seeing all the way through to the other road gives an eerie feeling.

In an unexpected turn of fortune, my husband and I were given a loan by a friend to pay off the remainder of our debt on the property so that we can sell it and leave. The property is now registered under our name, and not the name of the (now former) owner who was financing the property for us, so that gives some measure of relief at least, since there were conditions on our mortgage through them that we "couldn't cause trouble for the other neighbors" ... and I was very concerned more than once that the neighbors causing trouble with us could somehow get US in trouble, since they were spouting so many lies about us ._.

We're still paying on the building that we're living in, but at least the land is ours. We've been in cleanup mode over here, getting the property cleaned up and gathering supplies to fix the roof of the old cabin here that we've never been able to live in. We don't know what the future will bring, we only know what we're working towards.

We'll probably be stuck here through the winter, which sucks, but at least we own the property and the bills are a little cheaper now as a result.
I've been working on streamlining my process so I'm hopeful I can hopefully fit more personal art into my life.

I'm feeling a bit more positive today after eating so much food last night also. I don't think living mostly on canned food for several years is great for my health long term >>' but hopefully we'll be moving back to some semblance of civilization sooner rather than later. We'll see what happens. We need to figure out how to get the van fixed before that can happen.

Thank you for all of your support over the years. One way or another we're moving forward towards something better.

We... aren't going to be able to stay here. The neighbors have gotten bolder. Our lives are officially in danger. The police have been worthless, even with security camera footage.

I've been crying and shaking for hours.... and I've developed a phobia of heavy equipment, because the neighbor is literally destroying our property bit by bit with his backhoe, and waking us up with it in the mornings. Our building shook earlier from the impact of him stealing a freaking boulder off of our land. He doesn't even own any property on our side of the road.

I'm trying to collect the spoons to make a go-fund me... I don't see how we'll be able to escape otherwise.

We have no working vehicle, my PTSD is now too bad for me to work, and until we have funds, I have nowhere to go and no way to get there.

I feel like a part of me has died, and I don't know if I'll ever get it back.

We're about to become homeless if this keeps up, because it's literally impossible to work while being harassed like this.

Today I finally dug out my childhood manuscript for a children's book, and did my first draft revision in over a decade.

I finally feel like I'm starting to make progress on some of these long-abandoned projects <3

Except for maybe a glimpse, I'll be making WIPs P*treon exclusive. This is finally happening!

PS there's dragons :D

Hey everyone! The wait is over!

You might remember that a few months ago I was commissioned by Order of the Hyena, to do their album cover. I'm happy to say that their album has now been released!

You can check out their beats at https://theorderofthehyena.bandcamp...../rabbit-hole-2

This was my first time doing an album cover, and I'm excited to see where everything goes from here :3

Yesterday I was doing some work on this yeen commission, when my tablet went haywire and I had to turn it off ._. I guess it was too hot in here for it?

I've never had that issue with screen-less tablets. I guess the ones with screens have extra components that can overheat. Thankfully I didn't lose any progress.

It kind of seems like everything keeps getting in the way of what I need to be doing commission-wise, but I'm trying to take one day at a time to get things finished.

Today and tomorrow will be cooler thankfully, so I'm hoping things don't overheat today, and I can get things done. Hopefully the cooler weather means less tornado concern too... We had another one go by within a few miles of here the other day.... which was unnerving to say the least.

I'm feeling more and more like the universe is pushing me to move back into traditional art. Pencil and paper doesn't overheat and glitch out. I don't have to worry about if I saved my progress or not on a painting on canvas......etc etc.

Maybe digital art was the trap all along :/ But at the same time, I think about how I was able to backup my files and stuff in case there was a tornado. I couldn't really do that with a physical painting. So there's pros and cons for both mediums to consider.

I have a new paintbrush set coming from Amazon soon, and some ACEO cards.... and the canvas for my next art piece. So I'll be dipping my toe back into traditional art sometime in the next couple of weeks. - Patreon folk will get first glimpse of that when it starts.

Tomorrow, a tech person comes out to hopefully fix this issue I'm having with my internet speed.
After the utility people came out a week or two ago and put in a shiny new power pole with a transformer (which we didn't have before) my internet speeds have been.... abysmal to say the least. They might be replacing our router. If I'm really lucky, they'll be willing to run a wire to our current building, so we can have the router in here, rather than in the building behinds us. We'll see what happens.

At very least if they can get the internet fixed, I'll be able to have uninterrupted music again.

Focusing on art related stuff today before the next round of severe storms hits tomorrow.

Today I've updated Patreon, and updated stuff here. Might do some light sketching to get art flowing again so I can finish up my last commission after lunch. Thankfully today it's cool enough in here that it's safe to even make lunch ._. hopefully this won't be a problem anymore after we get a ceiling in here.

I may or may not re-open commissions after this last one is done. I have a big traditional piece that I'll be starting soon, and that will probably take up a good chunk of my time. We'll see though.

You can expect to see more updates here soon either way.

Hey folks, still working on commissions though a bit more sporadically than I'd like.

Storm season is here, and apparently that means so are my migraines ><

I think next year I'm going to not do any commissions April-May, due to the storms.

When I can work straight through a project without lots of interruptions, I do great......When I constantly lose my groove and have to pick things up repeatedly, I don't do so great. It turns what should be easy projects into much longer ones.

Granted, this year has been much worse for storms/dangerous tornadoes than the last several combined >>' so I'm trying to be kind to myself, and not beat myself up over what I haven't finished yet.

The past week...several weeks? (I literally can't keep track when I get like this >< ) has been almost non-stop migraine, with these massive pressure changes with these funnel clouds trying to form nearby, and pine trees dropping pollen everywhere.

I just need a couple of days of feeling normal, to get back into the swing of things, so I can actually FINISH things, but the universe hasn't given me that.
Yesterday I was trying to shower under one of these thunderstorms, and my head hurt so much I could barely see.

Today? I feel pretty good, finally. My eyes also seem capable of focusing on the screen.
Hoping the good weather holds for a few days, before the next round of storms happens. If it does, I'll be able to finish commissions sooner, rather than later.

As some of you know, I live in the woods.

I chose this place because it was inexpensive, protected from dangerous weather by the topography, and was still very wild.

In the past few years, other people have put their sights on the land around me.

There were foxes here when I moved in- I haven't heard their calls in a couple of years now.

The owner of most of the land here died over the pandemic, and the large swaths that came up for sale have caught the eye of wanna-be-investors.....who are clearcutting and burning everything. The waste is...mind boggling. Mutliple acres of piles of oak, cedar, and pine, tossed into a pile to be burnt, instead of being put to use.

When you try to explain to them that they're literally destroying more value than what they paid for the land, they shrug it off and don't care.... they legitimately seem to be proud that they were able to completely tear up every tree, and burn everything to the ground. They don't see the lives they've destroyed.

I genuinely do not understand. This area is prized for its natural beauty. It's a prime fishing area that relies on tourism to survive. If that keeps getting destroyed in the name of some shapeless "progress" ... and I wonder what I can do.

I have ideas, but I don't know how feasible they are.... but at the rate that everything is happening, the forest in this area could be gone in five years or less.
The only thing I can do is figure out how to buy the land, and protect it for at least another 50 years, just like the previous owners did.... with the eventual goal of turning the connected properties into a park, or something, so that it can't just be turned into the next W*lmart, or whatever.

This is doable in small chunks, as long as I can somehow make the extra money to do so. Land is between $5k and $20k an acre here. Even if I have to buy it cleared, I can plant new trees.... and give things a home that would otherwise not have one.

It's bittersweet, but I'm thinking the only way that I'll ever be able to do it, is if I get back to wood carving.... supplied by the very trees that are being cut down. I can save some of the wood from being burnt at least- turn some pieces of the forest into animals, and to try to accumulate enough money to buy the land to revitalize and protect it so that those animals can return.

Maybe I sound crazy, I don't know. But I'm so tired of humanity destroying every place I find to rest.

Hey folks!

I've finally got streaming figured out :D
If you'd like access to my Telegram announcements group, where I announce streams, and other juicy things, let me know.
Currently I'm working on a cute painting of a "wood dragon" eating cookies, which can be seen here - https://www.furaffinity.net/view/55645840/

Normally I don't consider myself someone who does a lot of "cute" art, but it's been pretty stressful the past few months, so I started this as an exercise to de-stress, while getting familiar with my new tablet.

I'll be streaming this, and also doing sketch commission streams in the future.

Hey folks, not sure what's going on, but I'm having problems with FA.





Update

---

It works again, but if anyone here wants to join me on Bsky, my offer for codes still stands :3


I've cleared my cache, updated my browser, all sorts of stuff, but for some reason the images on the front page no longer load, and nor does the submission page for artists I'm following. - Oddly I can see the front page fine if I open a "private" window....so I'm not really sure what's going on. The problems seem to be linked specifically to FA pages that have some kind of gallery functionality... but I'm not a tech person by trade.

I've submitted a ticket, but haven't gotten a response.

Seems kinda pointless for me to hang around here if I can't use the website as intended.

I'm going to check in here off and on though to see if the problem fixes itself.

With that said, I'm active on Bluesky, post frequently, including WIPS, and have codes available if you want to join the chaos.

Text based parts of the site, like this journal seem to work, so I can respond to comments and notes.

So.... I guess if you want a code to join me on Bsky let me know?

Commissions have reopened

Sketches $10 (1-2 chars $10 per additional) -
Linework $50 (1-2 char, $10 per additional) -
Headshot Icon- $35
Rough Speedpaint- $20
Tier 1 painting $50
Tier 2 paintings $100
Deluxe paintings $300-$500 (Rate will vary depending on complexity)

SFW or NSFW. If you're curious if I'd be willing to draw or paint something, ask :)
Worst I can do is say is no.

Can't afford my rates? Tell me what you want, and make me an offer. You might get lucky!

TOS here- https://docs.google.com/document/d/.....mf4i3rQYw/edit

So, it looks like I'm going to be delaying taking new commissions for a bit.

To make a long story short.... My husband and I are having trouble with some overbearing, violent neighbors. It's giving me nightmares and triggering my PTSD.

We now have a security camera up, after they trespassed on our property, and tried to fight my husband. He didn't take the bait. When they couldn't get him to fight, they retaliated by sprayed chemicals in our yard that they've been told he has severe health problems from.

I just spent over six months nursing my husband back to health, wondering if he was going to die, after his last flare up....and now I have to wonder if they did something that caused THAT in the first place. I'm livid, I'm scared, and just want peace again... but we refuse to roll over for people who are bullying us when we've done nothing wrong other than breathing the same air as these people- apparently.

The first of several signs are going up on the property, to indicate that there's a camera here, and that this is private property. Hopefully this will be enough to either get them to leave us alone, or charge them with something, when they try to hurt us/destroy our property again.

I just want to go back to feeling chill and drawing things, but my focus keeps getting stolen by this stupid crap :/

Slots have opened for commissions again.

I've also decided to offer black and white speed paintings as an experiment.
These are being offered for $30.

Why is this an experiment? It was suggested to me that it might be easier on my eyes if I paint everything black and white as the foundation for my paintings, instead of staring at bright colors on the computer screen all the time.

Recently I did a small experiment > to see if this is true, and it seemed to have cut down significantly on my eyestrain... sooo here we go.

I am opening up to five slots, for black and white speed paintings, and changing my limitations on numbers of characters to up to three, in anticipation of adapting this to change my workflow.

I am opening three slots for anything else.

Current rates are as follows-

Lines $50
5 hour paintings $50
10 hour paintings $100
Deluxe paintings $300-$500 (Rate will vary depending on complexity)

If you have a tattoo you'd like designed, I'd also be happy to help you design your next tattoo :3
(I'll have an example available to show for this shortly, which I'm also super excited about)

Thank you again everyone for all of your support :)

Hey folks, I was sick for a little bit, but am nearly caught up on my commission load.

I am opening my waitlist, and closing for commissions temporarily until I finish two pieces I'm working on completing.

One is the dinosaur- themed vore piece that I've been teasing, and the other is an underwater m/m piece.

Looking forward to sharing them with y'all soon :3

Hi folks!

Commissions are officially open, now that I've gotten back into the swing of things.

I have two slots taken with one slot open for SFW or NSFW content of your choice. I've been doing more soft vore lately, but I'm happy to devour more opportunities for different types of content. I'm still exploring my boundaries, with the exception of some hard "NOs" (mostly this means no cub, diaper, or humanXanimal content. If in doubt, feel free to ask. Worst I can do is say no.)

I'm happy to commit myself to larger projects with multiple images, or comics, and if I get a commission request like this, I will close for commissions temporarily to be able to focus on it exclusively.

Rates:

Sketches $30 (1-2 chars $10 per additional)
Linework $50 (1-2 char, $10 per additional)
Headshot- $35
5 hour paintings $50
10 hour paintings $100
Deluxe paintings $300-$500 (Rate will vary depending on complexity)


My TOS can be viewed here- https://www.furaffinity.net/journal/10530403/

Terms of Service:



All commissioners must be over 18 years of age. I do not produce comissions for minors.



Payments are accepted via Paypal, Cashapp, or arrangements can be made to pay via Patreon (other arrangements may be made if you do not reside in a country that has these services available. Please let me know in advance if this is the case)



If there is an option to leave a memo, or reference for what the payment was for, please do not reference anything that mentions furries, adult/pornographic content, or anything related. Paypal and other processors have permanently locked people out of their accounts for this.



If you leave a memo, please say it was for "design services" - this protects both of us, so that we can continue to utilize paypal/Cashapp as a payment platform. - all communications regarding commission content, must take place outside of paypal/other payment messaging systems for the same reasons.



If you are making payments- reference what payment out of the total number of payments it is (such as 1 of 3, 3 of 3, etc) this protects both you, and me, so that we both know what is owed, or not.



If you are commissioning a sketch - payment is required up front.



If you are commissioning a painting, you have the option of making payments at different stages of completion. Specific arrangements for this are to be made between the artist (me) and the client (you) on request.



If you are commissioning a piece that includes someone else's character, you agree you have permission from the owner of that character to have their character depicted. Please be sure that if you want NSFW art including your friend's character, that they are comfortable with being depicted sexually. (unless this is specifically fan art of a pop culture character, like a pokemon, and not someone's specific "sona" in which case this clause does not apply)



If a payment has been made, and you (the client) later decides (for any reason) that you would like to cancel a commission after work has started, refunds will only cover the amount of work that was "not" completed. This is easily calculated since I plan my rates around an hourly rate of $10 per hour, unless special agreements have been made.



Full refunds are only available if work has not started.



If the client actively prevents me from finishing a piece, and demands a refund claiming that the piece was never finished, I will not provide a refund. Once a final sketch of a composition has been approved by you (the client) major edits on things like perspective/character angle, will not be changed without paying my per-sketch rate.



High resolution files will be delivered via email, or Telegram, WIP images can be requested at any time to check the status of your commission. I am most active on Telegram Scalebutt and will respond fastest there.



By agreeing to commission me (the artist) you (the client) agree to the terms specified herein.



If you have any questions about this TOS. Please ask me, before commissioning me.

Hi there!

I'm Silv, aka Scalebutt. I live in a small cabin in the woods with my husband and cat.
Formerly, I lived in a shed, but I'm trying to move up in the world.

I've been drawing for years, with a love of dragons, fantasy, mythical critters, with some soft spots for Digimon and kaiju.

This account has actually been around for a while now, but for some reason I had never made a journal entry? I'm not really sure why.

So here's a journal entry XD

Hit me up if you want to chat, or commission me, or if you just feel like screaming into the void I guess?